1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to projectiles. More particularly, the present invention is directed to bombs, such as aerial bombs to be dropped from aircraft.
2. State of the Art
In the discussion of the state of the art that follows, reference is made to certain structures and/or methods. However, the following references should not be construed as an admission that theses structures and/or methods constitute prior art. Applicant expressly reserves the right to demonstrate that such structures and/or methods do not qualify as prior art against the present invention.
A typical bomb configuration includes a hard casing which carries a payload material. Bombs which are designed to penetrate into the target typically include a substantially-ogive shape nose section and an elongated cylindrical body. Such bombs can be deployed by release from an aircraft.
Bombs delivered from an aircraft, including free-fall bombs, guided bombs, and boosted bombs, must pass rigorous field testing in order to demonstrate that the bombs can be safely handled and deployed, and that they can be accurately delivered to the target. Such testing must be conducted for each type of aircraft which will carry the bomb. Therefore, the development of new bomb designs is subject to significant delay and expense before the weapon is certified for use.
Efforts have been made to modify the configuration of the hard casing of such bombs in order to enhance performance characteristics. For instance, efforts have been made to modify the shape and size of the hard casing for improved penetration performance. However, modifications to the shape and size of the bomb casing affect the properties of the bomb itself such as weight, center of gravity, moment of inertia, and aerodynamic properties. As such, such modified designs would normally be subjected to the costly and time-consuming process required to certify the safety and performance of such new designs for use in the field.
In order to avoid much of the time and expense associated with re-certification or re-qualification of modified bomb configurations, the present inventors developed a shrouded bomb assembly as disclosed in WO 99/30106, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
The invention disclosed therein generally includes a modified bomb casing surrounded by an outer shroud member. The shroud member is configured to emulate the shape and size of an existing qualified bomb. The combination of the shroud member and the bomb casing also emulates the weight, center of gravity and moments of inertia of an existing qualified bomb. Thus, the shrouded bomb disclosed therein may be readily qualified based on similarity of function to existing qualified bombs for use on an aircraft.
A shrouded aerial bomb formed according to the principles disclosed by WO 99/30106 is illustrated in FIG. 1. The shrouded bomb SBxe2x80x2 depicted in FIG. 1 generally includes a penetrator Pxe2x80x2 comprising a modified warhead casing Cxe2x80x2, a shroud assembly Sxe2x80x2, and an aft closure assembly ACxe2x80x2.
The shroud assembly Sxe2x80x2 includes forward clamp ring or H-ring segments 1xe2x80x2, 2xe2x80x2 and rear clamp ring or H-ring segments 3xe2x80x2, 4xe2x80x2 which are mounted about the outer peripheral surface of warhead casing Cxe2x80x2. Typically, attachments lugs (not shown) are provided on the outer surface of the H-ring segments which are in turn used to attach the shrouded bomb SBxe2x80x2 to an aircraft. The shroud assembly Sxe2x80x2 further includes a central shell or tube 5xe2x80x2, a nose cone 6xe2x80x2, a nose collar 11xe2x80x2 and an aft shell or tube 12xe2x80x2. Thus, as clearly illustrated in FIG. 1, the shroud assembly Sxe2x80x2 comprises numerous individual parts which must be assembled about the warhead casing Cxe2x80x2. Such assembly is tedious and time-consuming and, thus. Thus can increase the costs associated with production of the shrouded bomb SBxe2x80x2.
Each individual component of the shroud assembly Sxe2x80x2 is fabricated from sheet material. Thus, fabrication of each individual component requires riveting and welding steps which further adds to the costs and complexity of manufacture of the shrouded bomb SBxe2x80x2.
Moreover, accurate fabrication and assembly of the components of the shroud assembly Sxe2x80x2 is dependent upon the skill of the worker fabricating and assembling the shrouded bomb SBxe2x80x2. As such, it can be difficult to consistently achieve quality in the fabrication and assembly of the shroud assembly Sxe2x80x2 and the shrouded bomb SBxe2x80x2.
The present invention satisfies the abovementioned needs, and others, by providing an improved shroud assembly.
More particularly, the present invention provides an improved shrouded bomb which is fabricated and assembled at reduced costs, and less time, and with greater quality than previous shrouded bombs.
In one aspect, the present invention provides a shrouded bomb comprising a penetrating body surrounded by an outer shroud member, the shroud comprising a nose cone having a forward end and a rear end, a central tube having a forward end contiguous with the rear end of the nose cone, and a rear end, and an aft tube having a forward end contiguous with the rear end of the central tube.
In a second aspect, the present invention provides a shroud comprising a nose cone having a forward end and a rear end, a central tube having a forward end contiguous with the rear end of the nose cone, and a rear end, and an aft tube having a forward end contiguous with the rear end of the central tube.